Young but not
by Melancholy's Sunshine
Summary: Flash is a founder of the Justice League. He is good friends with the other founders despite being the youngest. He knew if anyone found out how old he was they would treat him differently. He didn't know how differently until Batman comes to talk to him.
1. Chapter 1

Who is Flash?

A scarlet Speedster who has control of speed force do to a scientific accident that allowed him to move faster than the speed of light. Currently there have been three. All known to have big smiles and warm hearts. Somewhat difficult to anger but easy for them to forgive. Have accelerated healing and a high metabolism.

But the third Flash was a bit different than the previous two. He got his powers when he was a child. The other two got theirs when they were adults. The third generation was the only one with green eyes. The others had blue eyes. He was also the only red head. He was one of the founders of the league.

"Pass it here West!"

And he wasn't even eighteen.

He was behind a high school playing basketball with a group of seniors. He had the ball and took a shot. It went bounced off the rim and into another boy's hands. He took the shot and it went in. Cheers and groans came from the people. The sun was starting to go down. People said good byes all around. Wally stood for a moment with the ball and took another shot.

It went in easily. He sighed. Walking back to the place he had to stay for one more year. It was his birthday. That meant only three hundred sixty five days until he was a legal adult. He could do what he wanted. He could have his own house. He could live on his own. Maybe even consider stop hiding his age to the league… Nah. They treated him like a little kid already. If they knew how young he _really_ was, he would be treated like a baby. Captain Marvel wasn't only because of he was Shazam's chosen one. He had an older body. And here he was only seventeen. Only eleven months after the league had been constructed.

He stopped in front of a building that he had come to know over the years. He walked inside quickly. He was the oldest one there. They joked he was a live in worker. He was the only teen in the Central City orphanage. He was the big brother of all the children. Even those that were adopted out came back every few weeks to visit Wally. He didn't mind. He had lived in an orphanage before. And he was back in one after his Aunt and Uncle died. He didn't let it affect him.

He was still the town's scarlet speedster. He was a third generation speedster. He was a hero. No one looked down on him. He stood strong and proud of his family that was fertilizing daisies. He only feared if someone from the league learned about it. Before he was at least twenty five. By the age twenty three most heroes start. Once twenty five is hit, a lot of things are ignored.

He plopped onto his bed and looked around the room. It was just like the other kids' rooms. But his had a small dresser with a lock on it for his hero clothes. Everything else was open and free for the other kids to use. Money was tight. He didn't mind sharing. Considering he had the benefit of being adopted once. And getting some money from the league. He wondered if Batman was going to donate money. He had done his best as Flash to convince him that he should but there were no promises made. But he had time. Batman would _have_ to give up and donate eventually.

-.-

Bruce sighed in his chair as he filled out a check. Flash had been bothering him for weeks about donating to an orphanage in Central. He was a generous person and all but with all the damage to the watchtower and Gotham recently (Joker) he couldn't afford to give a ton of money. He planned on going to the orphanage next week.

He would've just mailed an anonymous check but someone from Central also won the Bruce Wayne science scholarship at a Central High school and he had to make an appearance. He was tired. Wally West couldn't be too much different from any other over achiever or rich kid who bought their way into getting the scholarship right?


	2. Chapter 2

Bruce came to the orphanage with confidence that he flaunted in public. Though the people here were a bit different than the ones he had worked with in Gotham. When he donated there, they would kiss up to him and look good for camera crews that they had told to come. Here, there was little media. Most was from Gotham. One was from the Daily Planet in Metropolis. But only one small crew was here from Central City itself. And no Flash in sight. Though he could be wrong. He had never seen Flash as a civilian. Nor had he put time to look for the childish character that protected the city so diligently. The woman working at the orphanage was in her early fifties. Her hair had begun to grey. Her face had a warm smile. Very different from the greedy people of Gotham. She was out in the front with a group of children playing around her. She didn't look annoyed in the least.

Behind her there was a teen playing with some of the really young kids who looked newly orphaned. He stood out. He had vibrant red hair and bright green eyes. But he was also the only teen there. He couldn't be out of high school yet. A volunteer maybe. But not a worker. He was smiling and laughing with the kids too.

"You're Mister Wayne?" asked the woman walking up to him.

"Yes. And I take it you are Mrs. Hanick?" he asked. She nodded.

"Call me Ma or Betty. Everyone else around here does," she said with a hearty laugh.

"Very well."

The red haired boy stood up and ran over.

"Betty, I need to go into town," he said. His voice sounded familiar.

"What? Oh alright. But be back for the cameras later," she said. The boy smiled and ran off toward town.

"Who's he?" Bruce asked.

"Oh him? That's Wally. The oldest kid here."

Bruce looked at her with surprise.

"He lives here?" he asked. She nodded her head sullenly.

"His parents were killed when he was young. After that he came here for a year before he was adopted by his Aunt and Uncle. They… they died a year ago. He came back here until he gets his inheritance from both of them."

Bruce stared at her for a second.

"Wally? As in Wally West?" he asked.

"Why… yes. You know him?" she asked.

"You could say that," he said. He was the kid to get his scholarship? He was not what he expected. Obviously not like the rich kids who get other people to do that do the work. Or a shut in studier. The woman walked over to a group of kids who were arguing. He let out a smile at the sight. They deserved the money.

"Sh! Listen!" said a kid excitedly. Kids were gathered around a small radio. It was a broadcast about an ongoing crime. And apparently Flash had just arrived.

'_And it Mirror Master is now being escorted to a police car thanks to Flash.'_

"Hey guys!" said a cheerful voice. Everyone stared at the red haired teen that had appeared.

"Wally! You missed it!" cried a little kid.

"Missed what?" he asked ruffling his hair.

"Flash! He was on the news!"

The kid had a warm smile on his face His eyes were a soft and playful green.

"Really now?" he said with a laugh, "And who was Flash fighting today?"

"Mirror Master."

Wally laughed.

"Ah man. Does _that_ bring back memories," he smiled. One of the kids grabbed his arm.

"Tell us a story about Flash."

"Hm… have I told you guys about when the second Flash got a student?"

A few kids smiled while others had wide eyes in disbelief.

"Really?"

"Yeah. His name was Kid Flash. The rouges called him Baby Flash though."

"Mr. Wayne, it's time."

Bruce nodded and headed to the front of the orphanage to put on a bit of a show for the camera crews. He smiled as people took pictures of him handing the check off. Cameras were rolling.

"Also, I would like to announce the winner of the Bruce Wayne scholarship award," he said surprising the camera crews.

The kids of the orphanage gathered around to see what was going on. Wally looked over above everyone he had a slight confused look on his face.

"A kid named Wally West," he said with a smile. Wally stood frozen. Hands pushed his back making him move forward. Kids were dragging him forward to where Bruce was. He walked up and stared Bruce straight in the eye. Bruce grabbed his hand and shook it firmly. Blue eyes stared at bright green eyes.

"Uh, thank you sir," he said giving him an extremely bright smile. A smile that made Bruce take a double take. He looked like Flash. His smile was a bright and bubbly matching Flash's personality. It was like he was seeing Flash as a civilian.

"No problem. Your work in school has been phenomenal. You are a bright individual."

Wally smiled even wider. He had a set of dimples that made him look even more like a child. But he had something in him that screamed Flash.

After about two hours of camera time he walked around the inside of the orphanage he came to a single room. It was different from all the other rooms. Every room had two beds. This one was smaller and had only bed. It had two dressers. One had a lock on it. Curiously he walked over. He quickly unlocked it. The kid couldn't be hiding anything bad. And if he was, then it would be better to send him to a Juvenile facility. Making quick work of the lock that only he could manage with such speed.

The drawer opened and he looked inside. Bright scarlet lay inside. A mask stared back at him. He pulled the mask out slowly. Flash's mask.

"Oh man," said a voice quietly. He turned back to see Wally staring back at him with fear on his face.

"Flash?" he said in a tone similar to Batman. Wally was frozen. He walked up slowly.

"My Halloween costume is ruined," he said covering up his fear. He walked up and slid the drawer shut. Bruce walked over to the door. He turned back and looked at Wally.

"We'll discuss this in the Watchtower," he said in a gruff voice that was obviously Batman's voice. Wally looked at with wide eyes.

"Do we have to Bats?" he asked. A simple curt nod came from the civilian disguise that was the caped crusader.

"Yes. And don't call me bats," he said giving a Bat glare.

**Kay. Please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

Flash sat nervously in the Watchtower. Of course Batman would find out his age. But he wouldn't let that stop him from fighting crime would he? Night wing was younger when he started. Granted he was older than he was currently and had more experience but speedster time was a lot different than regular time. He was so focused on the talk that lay ahead, he didn't even register people saying hello to him. Not even the all mighty blue Boy Scout. Though Flash would never admit it, a real boy scout was better. He should know. His Uncle thought it would be great if he was a boy scout. He was currently working toward his Eagle Scout. But he would take that to his grave. With only Batman and a few Bat "approved" people knowing. Because now that Bats knew him, there was nothing he could really hide.

When Batman walked up to him about halfway (or what felt like halfway) through the day (?) he was ready to get it over with. He was led to a private room where he and the big bad bat were going to talk about his little secret from the team. Inside the room were two chairs. One for the interrogator, one for the interrogated. He sat in one and Batman sat in the other.

"How long?" he asked. Flash knew what he meant.

"Ever since the previous Flash died. I've had my powers for four years now. I started being Kid Flash three years ago. Barry died a year and a half ago. I've been Flash ever since."

"You were fifteen when you took the mantle," he said. Flash nodded.

"I knew less than he did do I had to wing a lot of it. I called Jay to see how much he could help me with my powers. Funny. I always wanted to vibrate my molecules through solid objects for my uncle. I wasn't able to do that until he had been gone for six months," he said darkly. Batman said nothing.

"So what now?"

"Now you start staying out of bars," he said seriously. Flash gave a playful smile.

"I wanted to experiment. Not to mention what would I have told GL? 'Sorry, can't come. I'm not even old enough to have a smoke,' and then run off like it's nothing?"

"No. But if I see you in a bar again _West, _you will be under Bat arrest."

Flash felt a chill go down his spine. Being stalked by a bat and his gadgets was not how he wanted to live his life.

"Don't worry. I don't really care for alcohol. It doesn't really mix well with being a speedster. One minute you're sober, the next you're drunk out of your mind and then there is the worst hangover. All in thirty minutes. I'll pass."

Batman closed his eyes and told himself that he was still a minor.

"I won't tell," he said bluntly.

Flash looked up in shock, "Why?"

"Worrying about your age would be a distraction to the league. You are capable and I will not be risking people's safety because they know that one person is still a minor and being a hero at the same time. Nothing changes about you. It would be them changing. Though I suggest you tell the founders."

"And why should I?" Flash asked defiantly.

"J'onn's a mind reader. Superman has super hearing. Hawk girl has honed hearing. Wonder Woman has her lasso of truth. And if John gets you drunk again, there isn't much you can do about hiding your age."

Wally took this all in.

"Naw. They'd baby me the most. Really though, who cares if I'm seventeen?"

Outside the door.

Clark stops. Did he hear that right? He listens closer.

"Lantern would. The League in general. It's hard enough with Captain Marvel. He's the youngest but he can also turn into an adult. You however are only seventeen," said a voice that sounded like Batman.

"Whatever. I've helped save the world on numerous occasions. I don't plan on telling them. And if they were to find out what are they going to do? Tell my parents? They are six feet under for crying out loud," said a voice that sounded like Flash, "I mean, what would they really do? Convince you or Superman to adopt me and watch over me till I graduate? I don't think so."

"Careful what you say. You never know who's listening," said Batman ominously. Superman realized it wasn't a good idea to stay so he zipped down the hall quickly. He almost crashed into John if John hadn't stopped him with his ring.

"Whoa. Where's the fire?" John asked.

"John… did you… wait no you probably don't," he said. John cocked a brow.

"Did I what?"

"Did you know Wally was an orphan? That he was a minor when the league started? That he still _is_ a minor?" he more stated than asked. John lost focus in his ring and the green light around Superman disappeared.

"What? Flash maybe irresponsible but he is not…"

"He is seventeen. Batman was talking to him about it," he said frantically.

-.-

"So the worst person to tell would be…?"

"Superman."

"I would thing the guy who could roast you with his eyes would be the person you'd want to tell," Flash joked.

"He can't keep his mouth shut. Especially if it involves the "safety" of a league member. And he blows things out of proportion. If you tell anyone, start with J'onn."

"John or J'onn?"

"The Martian," he growled between his teeth. Wally laughed seeing how he could make him angry. He was still a kid. But here it was at heart. On earth he just a kid. And he was fine with that.

**Kay. Please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

John sat alone in his Watchtower room. He had some thinking to do.

"_Are you sure you heard them right?" he asked tentatively. _

"_Yes. They were talking about Flash being only seventeen. I overheard by accident and continued to listen to confirm it. I can't believe there is someone that young in the league."_

"_Captain Marvel," John said._

"_Yeah but he has someone to watch him when he's a kid. And he goes into battle as Shazam's chosen. He looks like an adult. And he's extremely durable in that form. And he loves fighting with others. Flash likes people… but he seems to want to do it alone. He is stubborn to."_

"_Yeah but that's just how a… kid acts," said John. He never realized how much of his behavior _was_ his age. _

"_Clark, I don't think Flash wanted us to know. So… keep quiet for now."_

"_But the other founders need to know," he said sternly._

"_Clark. I need to think. And I don't think gossip about Flash's age would be too good for people to focus on work," he said just trying to get Superman, the big blue gossiping boy scout, to keep quiet._

"_Alright. But we need to tell the other founders. He's too young to be out there."_

Flash had always been good at his job. But… a minor. And no parents. The Flash that he knew seemed to disappear in his mind. Suddenly all he saw was a kid with a Flash shirt on. One with no distinguishing features other than his bright smile. He didn't know how to go about the situation. He knew nothing would've changed if he didn't know. He silently cursed Clark for telling him. But he also thanked Clark. He really knew nothing of his scarlet friend who protected the innocents of Central City. But something didn't add up.

He knew of a scarlet speedster of a few years ago. The current Flash would've been too small. Who was that other Flash? His dad? He didn't know. He didn't even really think about how different the two Flashes were. The one before the one that was in the league, he was more serious. He was very protective. He even introduced him to his sidekick Kid Flash.

John felt something unsettling in his stomach. His Flash was _that_ kid. A spunky red haired and green eyed child with too much energy. Compared to how he acted then, their Flash was very mellow. As shocking as that idea was.

"_GL, what brings you to Central?" asked a bright voice. John landed next to a man dressed in Scarlet. Next to him was a very twitchy and energetic kid. He was wearing spandex like the Flash but his top was a bright yellow and his lower part of his body was a bright red. Fiery red hair was blown back and kept back by a pair of red goggles on his costume. He had a larger than life smile on his face._

"_Heard rumors of Sinestro being here. I figured I could flush him out," he said talking to the elder. The kid wasn't paying attention and looked really spastic. His eyes darted around feverishly. _

"_Come on Flash let's do something," the kid whined extremely fast. Flash laughed and grabbed the kid in a head lock._

"_GL, this is Kid Flash. Kid Flash, this is John of the Green Lantern Corps."_

_The kid looked up at him for the first time. _

"_I like your eyes. They're cool," he said on an impulse. Flash laughed. _

He didn't think that squirrely kid was their Flash. The one that had run into speed force. He broke out into a light cold sweat. He knew he was young but to throw away that much of his life? He was more of a hero than people knew. But what gnawed at him was that he had no parent. No guardian. No one to call if he got hurt. He only had the league. He was the league's kid. John felt he should do something. But what could he do? It's not like he could find out who he was and adopt him.

…Or could he? Wally was still a minor. He needed someone to watch over him and his impulsive ways. And he was in the Justice League. It wouldn't be too hard to find out who the great scarlet speedster was.

"A seventeen year old red head with green eyes that is most likely living in an orphanage. How many of those can there be?" he said to himself standing up. He walked over to his computer to look for his elusive friend.

Hours later

Six hours of searching with two of those talking to Shayera about various things and he had found him. Granted he was the first kid that he found in Central with the qualifications but he was a science wiz. He didn't see that one coming. He spent time after that to look for other possible matches. But none were even close to his squirrely friend. Some were a lot bigger than Flash. Some were a lot smaller. There were five people that could've been, and two of them were girls. And he knew for a fact Flash was not a girl. So that left one kid. A Wally West. Parents killed when he was nine. Adopted when he was ten. His Uncle died when he was fifteen. His Aunt died about a year later. He was sent to the Central City orphanage. He looked over his account. He was going to be a senior this year.

He smiled at the thought. But he gathered together different bits of paper work to prepare what he was going to do. Wally wasn't going to be alone anymore. Not if he could help it. Once he was organized, he walked down to the Zeta beams.

"One to Central City," he said. He felt his molecules being separated and put back together as he was sent to Central city. He put in a pair of colored contacts and began walking toward his destination.

**Kay. Do people see where this is going?**

**Review!**


	5. Chapter 5

Wally sat in his room eating his eighteenth meal of the day. Fourteen ham sandwiches and two liters of pop. He was unaware of what was happening in the main office.

"You want to adopt Wally?" asked Mrs. Hanick. John nodded his head.

"I've known Wally for years. I didn't know he was here though," he said honestly. The woman looked over his paper work.

"Well everything seems to be in order… Are you sure Wally wants this?" she asked. John clenched his jaw.

"This is something he needs," he said mutually. She just nodded.

"He's in room on the top floor. Third on the right," she said. John prepared his ring. Flash could be a handful at times. He was glad the contacts were hiding his now green eyes. He walked up the stairs to Flash's… Wally's room and quickly opened it.

Sitting on the bed was a red haired teen with a confused expression on his face. A physics book in his lap and a sucker in his mouth. Bright green eyes stared at him intently. Innocent eyes.

"Uh… hello. Can I help you?" he asked. The undertone had Flash's spark and energy. But he was still so different. John sat down next to him.

"Fl… Wally. I'm here to adopt you."

Wally's face froze. For a minute John was wondering if he had heard him. Then the kid stood up, and bolted (at human speed) toward the door. But he fell when something grabbed his leg. Green light.

He looked up at John. Fear accented his features. He shook a little and looked back at his feet.

"You're Green Lantern?" he asked. He nodded.

"This is about the underage drinking thing isn't it?" he asked. John gave him a look. Then he cursed himself. He had given Flash a beer. Flash was a minor.

"No. But we will talk about that later Wally."

He grabbed Wally's wrist and pulled him off the ground.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"I'm seventeen. In a year I'll be an adult. You should adopt one of the little kids," he said. He did this to anyone who wanted to "adopt" him. He remembered Lex Luthor coming to "adopt" him. That was an insanely strange ride. He was glad that Betty had seen what a disaster that would've been. Otherwise it would be hard to explain to the league why he knew everything Luthor was doing while not trying to be a speedster in a high tech security lab.

"Calm down Wally. Not one of us will be alone. Everyone has someone to watch over them," he said.

-.-

Shayera walked around the Watchtower with a slightly puzzled look on her face. John wasn't very focused when he was talking to her. His mind kept wandering back to adoption. Something they did on Earth apparently. Where a kid who loses its parents is taken in by another. It was unlike her home. When she was born, she was on her own. If you had someone watching you it was a teacher. You were the student. That was all. They taught. You learned. You someday kill another. That was how it worked.

John seemed fixated on it though. Something about taking someone in. Kind of like how he watched over Flash. He was a big enough child as it is. He couldn't have been over twenty one years. He was too bubbly and ignorant. He had a naïve view of the world. He was almost as bad as Superman. But Flash realized things that Superman didn't. Superman was good with words. She heard about him being a reporter, Batman was descriptive because... he was Batman. But Wally had a unique vocabulary. Words that Batman would have to simplify on rare occasions. Words that really didn't make sense. Words that were described by others as sciency.

"PUT ME DOWN!" yelped a familiar voice. Flash? She flew over to see what was going on. Flash was inside a green orb created by John. Inside the orb were two suit cases. Flash looked angry to say the least.

"Calm down Wally," he said in a much calmer yet demanding tone.

"John? What's going on?" Shayera asked. When Flash was encased in the Lantern light it could not be good.

"Shay! Get me out of here! I'm sure this is considered kidnapping!" he yelled again. John sighed.

"I'm not kidnapping you Wally. Though as fitting as part of that maybe, I'm supposed to watch over you," he said sternly. Flash flew his hands into the air.

"Like you weren't doing that before!" he complained.

"What is going on?" she asked again grasping her mace.

"I adopted Wally," he said bluntly. Shayera looked at him for a moment.

"Who's Wally?" she asked. Flash squirmed a bit to try and get out.

"That's Wally," he said pointing at the man in the Flash suit. Flash crossed his arms in annoyance.

"I don't recall giving you the right to just say my name," he said with mock annoyance.

"Get used to it Hot shot," he said calmly, "Now can I put you down without you running off?"

A strangely serious look came from Flash.

"I'm a runner. You can't expect me to stay still," he said in the most blunt voice Shayera had ever heard him talk in, "Let me guess, you need to recharge your ring?"

"Don't make this any more difficult than this needs to be Wally," he said looking back at him.

"If memory serves… you are the one that created this predicament in the first place," Flash remarked.

"Flash…" 

"I'm fine on my own John. I'm not a little kid. You agree with me don't you Shay?" Flash pleaded.

"John, Flash is a founder. I'll admit he's childish at times but…," she began.

"Seventeen," he interrupted, "He's only seventeen."

"Hey! That's only normal people time. Not speedster time!" he quickly remarked. Shayera looked at the two like two people from her own world. A child on their own and a teacher wanting a student. It happened. And it often times looked similar to this. Except back home they would duel to see who would get what they wanted. The teacher almost always won.

"John. Put Flash down," she said. John looked at her carefully, and then he put Flash down. Flash glared at John before tearing off elsewhere into the Watchtower.

"Wal-"

"Explain," Shayera said stopping him. What did the age seventeen mean? On her home world, one was grown by the time they were fifteen. Granted they were more mature by then but who's to say that seventeen is so bad here?

"He's a minor. He's living in an orphanage. He's just a kid," he said explaining himself.

"What did you do?"

"I adopted him," he said after a minute.

-.-

Wally ran until he nearly crashed into Superman.

"Whoa!" he said pivoting on one foot to avoid the blue man, "Sorry Supes!"

Superman stared at him for a minute. He really was a child. Forget John. He needed to tell the other founders. He saw Wonder Woman and J'onn walking down the hall ahead.

"J'onn, Wonder Woman. There is something I need to tell you," he said. J'onn and Wonder Woman looked at him. J'onn gave a curt nod.

"I already know," he said going on ahead.

"Know what?" asked the Amazonian Princess.

**Kay Sorry I didn't update yesterday. I was at MXC! To all of the counselors out there, my respect goes to you!**


	6. Chapter 6

Shayera walked down the hall slightly angry after finding out what humans thought of people who were 'seventeen'. Apparently they weren't adults but very close to being an adult. She was angry. Not at Wally. She wasn't open about her kind of people. Batman wasn't open at all. Why does it matter about his age? She would always look at him as her adolescent little brother. She would watch over and care for him until she grew old. She was going to take care of him no matter his age. She had learned that on earth. She was big sister. She was not his mother. And that wasn't going to change.

-.-

Diana listened to Clark and only nodded her head a bit. It wasn't so different than where she was from. Kids who were younger were training to be warriors were younger than him. She was pleased to hear his age. Young and striving to protect his people. He was a definite warrior. Sure she would have to watch him a bit more but that was because he hadn't reached the full warrior age yet. When he was eighteen he'd be a fully aged warrior.

"Why are you so worried Clark? Children from my home are learning to fight at younger ages. Why are you so worried about him fighting?" she asked. Superman's jaw dropped.

"He's just a kid! He shouldn't be out fighting. I didn't even start until I was twenty-four!" he ranted. Diana sighed.

"He is a grown warrior. He is like a son to me. Or a brother. I would not let anything happen to him. I have never let anything happen before. He has grown stronger. I am sure he will be fine Clark," she said walking off. Clark stood in disbelief.

"He's just a kid!"

-.-

J'onn walked up to Batman.

"Superman is telling the founders about Wally's age. I suggest you either stop him or warn Flash," he said monotonously. Batman gave a curt nod.

"A bit late to tell me that," he said, "Green Lantern has 'adopted' Flash."

J'onn left now that he had passed his message.

-.-

Wally angrily munched on a mountain of food. He was upset at what had just happened. Everything going wrong in one day. And yet the world was still moving on. He still had a boy scout meeting tomorrow. And then he was going to see the master falconer. He smiled at the idea of Falconry. He thought it was amazing. He wasn't able to do falconry on his own until he was eighteen. But he had started an apprenticeship when he was sixteen. It was one of the last things his Aunt Iris signed him up for. He had a hunting license just for that. There was something magical about it. And now with a marine guardian, he was probably going to lose it all.

He scowled. He wasn't going to lose it without a fight. There was nothing _Lantern_ could do to stop him. He would never be fast enough. John just had a title. He would never take the place of his Uncle or dad. Never.

"Are you sitting alone?" asked a familiar voice. He sighed with relief.

"Yeah Question. Want to join me for a bite?" he asked. Question sat next to him and lifted part of his mask so he could eat.

"So I heard that someone in the league has adopted a kid," he said. Wally tensed slightly in his costume.

"Really? Where did you hear that?" Wally asked.

"Green Lantern and Superman were talking about it. They said this child could change so much," Question continued. Wally held his ground. He would not let anyone know that he was that child.

"Well I'm free to babysit," he said with a large smile. Question was as stoic as ever.

"You always seem to have time."

Wally almost sighed with relief. Question actually made things feel normal.

"Luthor tried to adopt a kid six months ago. He was trying to use his brain," Question said. It sounded like another of his crazy conspiracy theories. But Wally was that kid so he knew otherwise that what he said was entirely true.

"Luthor would use Batman if he could," Wally laughed.

"There is a secret brain to the league," he said listing off another conspiracy, "They say he will take over."

"And who might this be."

"No one knows."

Always a question. Never an answer. He looked at the time.

"Oh jeez! I've got to go Question. See you later!" he said. But while running to the exit, he ran into someone.

"There you are Wally," said John. He grabbed Wally by the shoulders. He looked over at Question and mouthed 'Help me', before he was dragged off.

"I need to take you home," he said calmly. He looked up at him.

"Look if it's all the same to you I think…"

"Two to Colorado," he said calmly holding Wally still.

"Your home?" the man asked.

"Yes," he said. Soon their molecules were taken apart and put back together in a large house in the mountains. Wally would be lying if he said it wasn't impressive. But he preferred being in a place where he could see people. Apparently John wasn't so into others company.

"So, when do I leave?" Wally asked.

"When you are old enough to take care of yourself," John said simply. Wally rolled his eyes.

"Look John. I have a life in Central. You can't take me away from that," Wally stated.

"I won't. I just want to make sure you are safe," he said putting a hand on his shoulder.

"I was safe before," Wally backfired, "What's so different now?"

John didn't say anything.

"Your room is upstairs third on the right," he said not answering Wally. Wally crossed his arms.

"I'm sure Shayera and Di wouldn't treat me like this," he said complaining.

**Yeah this is not what some of you expected. And I wrote something about Luthor's attempt at adopting Wally. It's called Epic Fail. Hope you read it. Please review!**


	7. Chapter 7

Wally didn't sleep. He laid awake all night thinking about what happened. He was at the orphanage. He was knocked unconscious. He woke up adopted by the Green Lantern of the Justice League. Normally he would run to get rid of the unease he felt. But there was nowhere to run. Not anymore. He rolled over on his side. This wasn't his room. It would never be. His room was in Keystone. When he was young and naïve. His room was in Central City, performing experiments with his uncle. His room was in the orphanage, with the laughing and screaming and crying of the little children. This was too quiet. To secluded. He sat up in the bed. The room was white. Obviously a guest room originally. His stomach growled angrily. Storming up to a room without eating wasn't doing him any favors.

He groaned and stood up walking out of the room. The door opened quietly as he walked out. He didn't want to burn the energy he had. Despite having it for years, he was no master. No one could master the uncontrollable energy that was speed. When he got downstairs, he looked around for the kitchen. He was a bit surprised to find a library, a study and a den before finding the kitchen. When he made it to the kitchen he emptied the fridge of all the food that he could easily put together.

Ham and cheese for sandwiches went first. Fruit followed. Obviously a healthy marine diet was not prepared for the intake a speedster needed. There were no packs of just carbs. Oh well, he'd learn the hard way that a speedster was not about fun and games. It was more serious than that.

He looked at the empty fridge. There was no way the marine could care for them both. Wally smirked. He was fine at taking care of himself. He walked outside and took a deep breath of cool mountain air before running to the nearest city for a meal. Meanwhile, John was waking up. Now that Wally was here what was he going to do? He had never raised a kid before.

Nervousness overcame him as he walked toward Wally's room. Funny, he never thought he's have a kid. Not like this at least. And certainly not Flash. Not an older adolescent. He came to Wally's room and opened the door slowly. His heart fell when he saw the empty bed where Wally was staying. He felt uneasy. He ran to his room and slipped on his ring.

"God dammit Wally," he cursed under his breath. He ran outside. Taking off to the sky looking for his young… kid? Well, he was still a kid. He put in his communicator, "Green Lantern to Superman."

"_Superman here. What's going on?"_ he asked.

"Wally's missing," John said.

"_Who?"_ Superman asked.

"Flash. I… Remember when I said I adopted him?" he asked.

"_Yes." _Superman responded.

"He's gone," he answered solemnly.

Wally.

"Hey Joe!" he said with a big smile on his face. A large man in the diner smiled back at him.

"Wally! Where have you been? I haven't seen you in my diner in a week," the man responded. Wally laughed.

"Where haven't I been?" Wally joked, "Some guy thinks he can walk into my life and change it though. I like it the way it is."

"Well you walked into our lives. Ain't he doing the same thing?" Joe remarked. Wally shrugged his shoulders.

"That's not the same. We got our start over a slice of cherry pie," Wally said, "Speaking of I am hungry. Got any pie?"

"Oh sure enough. Got a few left over from last night. They're yours," he said happily.

"Thanks a bunch!" Wally said as he was brought a pie from last night. The great thing about the diner, everything was made fresh and nothing went to waste. And that helped keep Wally happy and healthy.

"So Wally this guy… anything like Luthor?" he asked. He then laughs when he saw Wally grimace trying to compare the African Marine hero to the anemic bald villain.

"Uh. Not really. He was an old friend of mine. Until he adopted me," he said getting quieter. Joe looked at him.

"Well… I don't know what to say to that. But kiddo," he began, "You aren't alone. If something happens between you and your new guardian let me know."

Wally nodded. One person in thousands. One that he could stand actually being with. But for his safety, he couldn't.

"I know Joe," he said digging back into the pies. The static of the radio caught his attention.

"_this just in… Captain Cold is robbing the Central City Bank. Police are arriving on the scene…"_

Wally looked at Joe. Joe gave a knowing smirk.

"Go get em tiger," he said slapping Wally on the back. Yeah… one in a million.

"Kay," he said rubbing his tummy, "Good pies."

"I'll tell Claire you said that."

"Me or the man in spandex?" Wally joked. Claire was the baker. She didn't know.

"How about Flash this time?"

"I'm cool with that," Wally said running out the door and heading for Central City. It wasn't long after that a dark skinned man came running into the diner out of breath.

"Excuse me; have you seen a boy come through here? Red Hair? Pale skin? A bright smile?" he asked.

"Oh! So you were who he was talking about," Joe said. John looked at him suspiciously.

"He was here?" he asked.

"Yep. Seemed a bit distraught when he got here. But he seems better now."

"Where is he?"

"On his way back to Central I suppose. Kid's got school in a few hours. And it's pretty far when you don't have a car. Wouldn't you say?"

John stayed quiet. He couldn't be getting at Wally's powers. No. He was overthinking it.

"Thank you for your help," he said leaving the diner.

Meanwhile Flash was circling Captain Cold outside of the Central City bank.

"Whoops! You missed!" Flash teased as Cold attempted to shoot at him, missing every time. Cold was losing his temper quickly. Flash got in close and pushed Cold from behind knocking him to the ground. Like a school kid one couldn't help but think. When Cold fell he dropped his gun. It skidded across the pavement a few feet away from him. But as soon as he let go of the gun, he knew it was all over. He was in cuffs before he could even reach out for it.

He was pulled to his feet and led to a police car by Flash.

"Here you are. One cozy warm police car free of charge to Iron Heights. I hope you enjoy the trip!" Flash said excitedly. Cold cursed as he was pushed into the police car and forced to leave. Flash smiled and looked around as people began to go back to doing what they usually did. A kid he recognized from the orphanage ran up to him. School was starting soon.

"Mr. Flash? Would you sign this for me?" he asked. His name was David. But Wally would never let on that he knew.

"Sure. What's your name kid?" he asked.

"David," he said pulling out two sheets of paper, "But could you sign one for a friend of mine?"

Wally stared at him from behind the mask, "And who would your friend be?"

"Wally. He was adopted by a strong and scary man. I think it would make him feel better to have something from you."

"From me?" he asked.

"You're his favorite hero. He told us lots of stories," he said. Wally held back his tears. One day gone for them was so much longer for him.

"I'm sure you'll see him. Does he still go to school in this area?" he asked though he knew the answer.

"Uh huh. But I want to give it to him," he said. He threw a Flash smile and signed both the papers. One for David. And one for Wally.

"Now get to school."

**Kay that's all for now. Please review. **


	8. Chapter 8

"Be prepared. The Boy Scout motto. Well, I wasn't for what happened yesterday."

"What happened?"

"Someone adopted me," he said with a voice that sounded like he was being sent to do swimsuit ads in the arctic, or modeling gay porn. The boys in the room had mixed emotions on their faces. Some were grinning, some were frowning, and some looked confused. The younger ones sported the most confused looks. They often times called him the troop leaders son. He wasn't but they weren't old enough to really remember.

"Seriously? Someone adopted the big bad boy scout?" one of the older teens mocked. Wally smirked and gave him a look. He had earned that name because he was the most fearless and ready Boy Scout. He was fun and energetic but didn't deal with crap. He was a model Boy Scout to many, so many that he was sometimes referred to as the ginger Superman.

The meeting was over but many of the scouts were either waiting to be picked up, or waiting for the younger kids to be picked up. No man gets left behind. Another motto that Wally lived by. He never left anyone behind. He had scars to prove it. Well, he would've if they hadn't healed. The only one that never did fully heal was the one from Zoom. The day Barry was killed he was given a little 'gift' from the time traveling speedster villain.

He had given him a nasty scar on his side. From his back around the side and onto his stomach. It was a nasty bugger. Most people didn't know. But his troop knew about it. But they thought it was from his accident in the river when they went kayaking and he had to save one of the scouts that had fallen in. The run in with the rock had not been fun.

"Yes. And if you call me that then I'm not sure he'll ever take me back," he said laughing.

"Why would you want to go back?" asked a younger scout. He was naïve to the world around him. He was new to the scouting world. Something that would go away in time.

"Because I'm a big kid," he said ruffling the younger's hair. Still, he was getting a feel of uneasiness. Like something was going to go horribly wrong. And he was rarely wrong. The first time he had that feeling, he was ambushed with pie at his uncle's house. The last time he had that feeling he witnessed a group of people skinny-dipping. He was glad to have gotten the scouts away from that.

"But you need parents," said the younger. Wally gave a sad look with a warm smile. He leaned in closely and said softly to the troops, just loud enough for their ears…

"My mom and dad had to leave me. But they are always watching me. No matter how far I go they are always…"

"WALLY!" came a familiar cry. Wally cringed and his ears turned pink. He turned to see John run up to him. He was sweaty and out of breath.

"Jeez John," Wally grimaced, "You smell like a barn."

The other scouts covered their noses. He didn't smell very fresh.

"Wally, where were you?" he asked angrily. Wally shrugged his shoulders.

"School. Then I had to pick up different kids for the meeting," he gestured to the kids. John looked closely at his uniform.

"Never took you as a Boy Scout," he said with little amusement in his voice. Wally looked down. He had yet to change out of his uniform.

"Shows what you know about me John," he said calmly. The older scouts assess John carefully. Like he was an alien probing the earth. Well he does work for little blue alien gnomes but he's not evil. The second oldest (only being younger than Wally) walks up to John slowly. He looks up and down John.

"What on earth compelled you to adopt the big bad Boy Scout that is our Superman?" he asked. The group started laughing as Wally's jaw dropped.

"Guys!" he couldn't help but squeak, "Not cool!"

John gave a small smile. Fla… Wally was something else. He never would have guessed this was the person behind the scarlet speedster. A boy that was a leader.

"Neither was you running off without telling me. I've been looking for you for hours."

"I had school." 

"You didn't tell me."

"It's _Monday_. No holiday. Of course I have school. Ask anyone one else here," he said.

"Wally. You should have told me."

"You shouldn't have worried."

"I'm your guardian. I have every right to worry when I don't know where you've been," he said. Tension was filling the air. Wally looked over at the older scouts. He had learned sign language with a few of the other older scouts. He signaled them to take the kids elsewhere. Soon the kids were ushered away. A few nervous looks were shot. But they all left. He looked at John with a hard look.

"You are a minor."

"I am old enough to save lives. Batman is fine with what I do. I'm sure J'onn is too. I've been doing this for as long as you've probably been a lantern. I know what I'm doing. I'm not a kid."

"You are. You're too young. You should at least tell me where you are going."

"And that's going to change anything?"

"Yes I can help you."

"I haven't needed help in years. I can do it on my own," he growled. His arm began to vibrate with rage.

"Don't argue with me Wallace," he bit back. Wally's eyes grew wide. His vision blurred with a few tears. He scowled at him angrily.

"Don't tell me what I can and can't do."

"I can tell you what to do. You're grounded. No hero work until I say…"

"You can't stop me. My dad couldn't stop me. What makes you think you can?" he said before tearing off. There was only one real place he could think about going. His old home.

It would be his when he turned eighteen. His parents' house. Technically he'd own Iris's and Barry's house then too. But for now they were owned by the bank. He still had the key though.

**Angry Wally. Concerned John. Reviewing readers?**


	9. Chapter 9

Wally woke up in his old room. He smiled at seeing the old posters of the original Flash. He sat up in his old bed and went to his bag. He pulled out a change of clothes and before a normal person could blink he had changed his clothes.

"John, you are not the brightest lantern in the sky," he said to himself as he walked down the stairs. He turned into the kitchen out of habit from when he used to live there. He swore he could almost smell coffee. He stepped into the room and jumped in surprise.

"Morning Wally," said John looking at him. Wally gave him a glare that oddly reminded John of Batman.

"What are you doing here?" asked Wally.

"I could ask you the same thing."

"I own this place when I turn eighteen. I wanted to stay here," Wally said calmly.

"Without telling me?"

"Any reason why I should?" Wally asked walking toward the kitchen door. He tripped hitting the floor.

"Not cool John," said Wally pointing to his feet that were encased in green light.

"We're having breakfast together," he said sternly.

"You cannot be serious marine boy," Wally scoffed.

"Being together is part of being a family."

"I don't remember agreeing to this," Wally said.

"You did. Remember?"

Back to adoption day

"You? Adopt me? That'll happen. Same day we eat breakfast together."

Present time.

"Sarcasm. I have school!"

"You have time. School doesn't start for another two hours."

"But… but…"

"No buts."

"I'm a student helper. I always go in early. To help teachers."

"Teachers are fine on their own."

"You're an ass you know that John," he said. John then covered his mouth with a bright green light.

"Language Wally," he said. He mumbled behind the green lit gag. He threw his hands in the air angrily. He gave him another glare. This one looked more like Shayera's and not Batman's. He removed the light. Wally frowned.

"Stop."

"Stop what?" John asked sipping his coffee.

"Stop acting like my age matters. I've been in the hero biz long enough to know how it works. You don't need to hold my hand."

"Wally. You need guidance."

"If I need guidance then I can go to Jay. You wouldn't understand anything I'm going through."

"I'm sure there are things I would understand."

"Yeah… if I were a normal person maybe."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Wally looked at John.

"You really aren't that bright are you John?"

"Wally!"

"NoI'mnotstoppingnow!Youwon'!"

"What are you saying?" he asked. He had known he could talk fast. But this was ridiculous.

"'msaying? Then listen," he said slowing his voice. His eyes stared at John's. His happy green eyes weren't as bright. They were almost stormy, "I've lost my parents. I've lost the only other people I could even think to call mom and dad. What makes you think I want to go through that again?"

John sat silently.

"No answer. John, here on earth I'm Flash. A fun energetic speedster. But I'm also Wally, an independent kid who has way too much speed and has no parents or relatives taking him in. I have seen things that some heroes don't even know about. I was at school when I was told my parents were shot. They were killed John. By a gunman. They were civilians. I was a wreck. My Aunt took me in with her fiancé where I recovered. I even got my powers because of them. Her fiancé, my uncle was the second Flash. I practically worshipped him. You know what happened later? He was shot before my eyes by Zoom. My aunt broke down. She was diagnosed with depression and cancer," he said tears filling his eyes, "She died six months after my uncle. The same day I learned to vibrate my molecules through solid objects. I don't want to feel that pain again."

John sighed.

"I'm not trying to cause you pain Wally. I'm trying to help."

"If you wanted to help, you should have done something sooner or done nothing at all," he growled zipping out of the kitchen. John rubbed his temples. He was not good at working with kids.

Shayera

"Flash? What are you doing at the Watchtower?" Shayera asked. Flash looked up at her.

"Avoiding John."

"You should give him a chance…"

"He practically kidnapped me to adopt me!"

"…and you should cut him some slack."

Flash went silent.

"Look, only the founders know your age. J'onn and Batman are fine with what you do. Wonder Woman is a bit more protective with her attitude and has taken to yelling at some of the heroes who call you immature. And Superman is trying to keep you from going on any real dangerous missions."

"And you?"

"On my home world you would already be a man. So the age means very little to me. I am more upset you didn't trust me."

"Just you?"

"Well… John and Superman's reactions are a bit much. I can understand not wanting to tell them. But you could've trusted me."

"But whenever I thought about it you were with John."

She cocked an eyebrow suspiciously.

"Either that or dating him," he finished lamely.

"About that. I coming over for dinner tonight."

Flash jumped.

"You are?"

"John and I are back together," she said simply.

"Great. My hero best friend has adopted me. The girl who I look at as a sister is dating him. I am sure the big man in blue is the crazy uncle. What's next a monkey on a unicycle?"

**Bit shorter but it's an update. Please review.**


	10. Chapter 10

"Dang it," he muttered to himself. After learning that Shayera was actually dating John again he zipped out of the watch tower. Currently, he was on the Great Wall of China. There wasn't much to do other than hide from John. He was the only one that really seemed to care that he was seventeen. Seriously, he had seen Night wing as a hero since he was what? Eight maybe. Nine at the oldest. So what was wrong with him being seventeen? Sure he was younger than some other heroes but he had saved enough lives to prove himself. And he was a speedster. A_ speedster_. The interpretation of time from normal person to speedster was way different than John realized. More than anyone truly realized. Not even Batman or J'onn.

"John is an idiot. John is a moron. John is… COMING RIGHT AT ME!" he yelled tearing down the top of the great wall away from the approaching lantern.

John sighed. He thought Flash was hard to catch before. Now this was getting ridiculous. Like a cat and mouse game. This was getting ridiculous. John sped up at least now keeping up with Wally. Like Tom and Jerry. Like Coyote and Roadrunner. Always chasing the other. Never stopping.

-.-

"I bet that Flash will break lantern first," said Question taking bets. Different leaguers had heard about John and Flash who was now being called Wally. They were all in huge debate over who was right, who was wrong, but most of all they were arguing over whether Wally would keep his independence or cave under the marine.

And this was the biggest bet going around the league since Super girl had spread a rumor that Superman had something going on with Luthor after he had embarrassed her. It was entertaining to say the least.

"I put my money on the marine," said Black Canary who had little faith in the adolescent hero. She handed Question two hundred dollars.

"I put my money," said Shayera walking up to Question. She had five hundred dollars, "On Wally. People were shocked that she was betting against her boyfriend.

"I second that," said Diana. Though she didn't put money in. She didn't gamble. But it was still neat to know that the founders had their own opinion. People said Batman was even in favor of Wally. But rumors also said that Batman was for John. Wally was seventeen after all. J'onn was indifferent, being a couple hundred years old age doesn't seem like such a big thing. Things were starting to get interesting in the Watch Tower.

-.-

Wally wouldn't look John in the eye as he was led inside the lantern's home. John never knew how hard it was to have a kid. Or even corral a speedster. Wally never really knew how hard it was to outrun a determined Lantern. But then again, ever since John learned of his actual age, they were learning things left and right just trying to understand.

**I needed to update. T-T**


	11. Chapter 11

Wally frowned at John. He hated John's stupid ring. It was thanks to that ring that he was stuck in the house. Stupid glow in the dark green force field. It was times like this that Wally hated Oa for giving John the power of the ring.

"You really suck as a guardian. You know that John?" Wally asked sarcastically. John gave him a look. He thought Flash was snarky before. How could he have this much attitude.

"I'm just trying to keep you safe," said John. Wally rolled his eyes.

"A superhero? You're trying to keep a superhero safe? Dude, part of the job description that I'm gonna get hurt," said Wally chugging down a bottle of water.

"You're seventeen."

"Yes John. Very good. Someone has been working on his numbers like a good lantern now haven't you?" Wally mocked with a shit-eating grin. John hit him outside the head on instinct, "Ow John! Abusive much?"

John frowned watching Wally rub his head where he was hit.

"Sorry. Not used to having you here," he admitted. Wally's face lit up.

"I wouldn't expect you to John," he said standing up and putting an arm around John, "I'm a teammate. Not a brother or cousin or someone you deal with on a daily basis. No worries. No worries at all."

John raised a brow.

"Nice try Hot Shot. You're staying for dinner," John said with a smile. Wally sucked air through his teeth.

"Yeah about that… I kind of have plans. I had plans before you uh… took me in," he said wording things carefully, "And I'd rather _not_ be sitting in the middle of yours and Shay's date thank you very much. So if you don't mind putting down the barrier so I could go and not be late…"

"Nice try. You don't plan ahead and are rarely on time," said John. Wally kept his facial expression the same. Well John was going to learn the hard way that civvie Wally was a lot different than hero Flash. He pressed send on his phone. He really was supposed to meet up with a group of guys in the area and some girls for karaoke. With that message he just sent an SOW, a Save Our Wally, with the address to save his behind. Now all he needed to do was wait.

"How well do you know me John?" Wally asked innocently.

"Well enough to know that you need someone to watch over you."

"Really? I was fine before…" 

"We are not having this discussion Wally," he said firmly. Wally rolled his eyes. A marine could only take so much it seemed.

"Someone's cranky," he said walking back to the kitchen for more food.

"Haven't you eaten enough?" John asked, "You'll ruin your appetite."

Wally couldn't help but laugh at that comment.

"Metabolism John," he said still laughing, "I could eat enough to feed three marine battalions and still have room for dessert. And that is _nothing_ compared to what Uncle Barry could put away let me tell you…," he said with a wide smile on his face. John listened. Wally looked up at him and stopped. He closed his mouth quickly as not to say another word. His lower lip pouted a little making Wally look his age.

"What about your Uncle Barry?" John asked trying to get Wally to talk more. TO get him to trust him again as a guardian. Wally frowned at John. His face grew colder. Almost emotionless. He averted his eyes and crossed his arms. It was John's turn to frown as the usually talkative speedster remained silent. John opened his mouth to speak when the doorbell rang. He walked over to the door and opened it.

"Shayera," he said happily. But Shayera was not standing there. Instead, there were two semi-confused boys standing in the doorway looking at him.

"Uh… no sorry. We're here to pick up Wally for karaoke night," said one of them. He was wearing a baggy jacket, a pair of jeans and a bandana to cover his hair. The other boy had shaggy hair with a jean jacket and tight leather pants.

"Oy! Marcos! Andrew! Here to save me?" Wally yelled across the room with a new smirk on his face.

"Yeah. And what was with the light outside?" asked the long haired one. Wally's smirk grew.

"I swear this guy is doing _something_ illegal involving radioactive substances," Wally said walking over to the door. John didn't let Wally past him though getting an unhappy groan from Wally.

"John, I made a promise."

"Too bad. You're staying."

Wally looked at his friends with pleading eyes.

"You don't own his life man!" said the one with the bandana. Wally lipped thank you Marcos.

"Yeah. He is closer to us than you anyway. He even told us what was going on here. You can't just change his life and lock him up," said Andrew.

"Power to the future!" said Marcos grabbing Wally's wrist. John grabbed Wally's shoulder in a tightened grip making Wally flinch.

"The hell John?" Wally yelled at him, "Let go!"

…

Shayera landed near John's house throwing an over coat over her wings. She began to walk near John's house when she heard yelling.

"Would you stop John!" she heard Wally yell out in anger. She moved a little faster to stop them from killing each other to see a unique sight. Two civilians watching with curiosity as Wally and John tumbled in the grass, wrestling over something. John was now on top of a struggling Wally.

"You are not going out tonight!" he said angrily. Shayera sighed. She walked up thereby confusing the civilian boys more and hit John outside the head.

"Ow! What the? Shayera," John said looking up at his girlfriend. He stood up and got off a disgruntled Wally. Wally sat up with grass in his hair. Shayera gave John a look.

"Come now John. I'm sure it'll be fine to let Wally spend time with his friends," Shayera said understanding the situation. Wally grinned as a dumbstruck face came to John.

"Shayera," he said.

"Wally's a big boy," she said voiceing her opinion, "He can handle himself."

Wally stood up and gave her a quick hug, "Thanks Shay."

"Oh Wally," she said as he walked over to his friends, "Remember to call in."

Wally flinched. He muttered something about a mother hen under his breath.

"Kay Shay," he said a bit louder as he ran off with his confused friends. Shayera smiled at John.

"Did you really have to do that?" asked John.

"You and Wally would've killed each other by the end of the night. And then we wouldn't be able to have any fun," she said making John smile. Though deep in her mind she was thinking about how she was _not_ going to lose the bet.

**DC… it killed me… as did camp… and fair… and bleah…**

**Need… reviews… **


	12. Chapter 12

Wally and John fought each other for the next few weeks like cat and dog. Wally winning some. John winning... a few.

"Face it John you can't win this war soldier boy," Wally laughed as John tried to make his way out of a trap that Wally had set up for the marine. It was a simple little trap in a forest that Wally had ran into. John had been misled and caught in a net dangling from a tree at the moment. John focused and used his ring to escape.

"HEY! No fair you cheated!" Wally yelled pivoting on the ball of his foot to start running only to hit a green wall.

"There is no cheating in war Wally," John said enveloping him in the green light. Wally sighed. He was too tired and hungry to pound uselessly against the green barrier in frustration today. Weeks of school, running from John, being a hero, running from John, Boy scouts, running from John, Falconry (which he was fairly certain that John still hadn't figured out about it yet... though Shayera was more than thrilled when she had caught him out in the woods one day with another person and a red tailed hawk), did he mention hiding from John? Well, it all added up to a tired and most likely food deprived speedster.

"Yeah, yeah yeah enjoy it while it lasts Johnny boy," Wally said taking advantage of the light bubble to sleep a little. He had monitor duty in a few hours and despite contrary belief he did watch the monitors. Batman, J'onn, Question, Orion, Wonder Woman, they all knew. He was just a little more animated than others who were stuck with the job.

John watched as Wally fell asleep in the green bubble. He felt as though he had won more than one battle today. When Wally was first adopted he wouldn't even sleep in John's presence. Now he would comfortably sleep in the green lantern's light. He zipped back home with the sense of accomplishment and pride.

Once they got back John carried the young speedster to bed feeling heat roll off of him in unimaginable waves. He felt warmer than normal. At least in John's opinion. But he knew little of a speedster's temperature. Maybe J'onn knew. Or Batman. He placed Wally gingerly on the bed. The teen rolled over so his back was to John. But John just smiled as he left the room to let Wally sleep.

-.-

"Ugh," Wally moaned as his body yelled at him to wake up. He placed a hand on his head as he felt a dull pulse from a throbbing headache pound viciously in his head. He sat up immediately regretting it as a wave of nausea overcame him. He fell back onto the bed groaning. He opened his eyes to more pain in his head as he looked for his cell phone. Once he found the device on the floor he punched in an all too familiar number.

"Yes?" asked a stoic voice.

"Hey there Mr. Sunshine," Wally said sarcastically before coughing violently, "I've come down with something. You think that you or J'onn could send some meds my way? I kind of have monitor duty today."

"You're sick?" the voice said with still no emotion.

"Yeah. Can't even sit up without feeling like I'm going to hurl," he muttered. He heard a few clicks from a keyboard over the phone.

"Don't bother coming in," the stoic voice told him.

"But Bats-!" he started to complain.

"If you can't get out of bed you're staying put. Nightwing will come by later with your medicine," he said hanging up the phone. Wally rolled onto his stomach and moaned into his pillow. He did not want to stay with Military boy. Especially since he couldn't run and didn't have an excuse to leave. He was trapped. On a Saturday, with his currently least favorite founder. Papa John (he wondered if John would give him a pizza while he was sick okay?).

"Why am I stuck with Mr. Rules and Regulations?" he muttered to himself. Speaking of which where was he?

John was actually just downstairs unaware of the sick speedster upstairs. He had been making dinner. One that he was sure could feed his entire Battalion. But it should also be enough for Wally and himself. He was not the best chef in the world but he was alright enough. And he had seen Flash eat some of the nastiest things in the world and not so much as flinch. Maybe it was his metabolism. Maybe it was something else.

He glanced over at the microwave. 5:19. Didn't he have Watchtower duty in forty minutes? He sighed as he walked up the stairs to wake Wally.

"Didn't take you very long to get here," he heard a raspy voice. Wally's voice actually. He walked a little faster still remaining as quiet as he could.

"Gotta love the transport system," another voice said. One that sounded familiar, not so much as he heard it every day but it plucked a few strings of recognition.

"Yeah, yeah. Got my meds?"

John froze as his hand reached for Wally's door knob. What in the world was going on in there?

"Yeah Walls I got them. Geez you look like crap."

"Thanks bird brain. I am kind of sick at the moment."

"When was the last time you got sick?" asked the voice as movement was heard in the room. The ruffling of fabric, maybe a bag. The undoing of a clasp. But all John was wondering was, Wally was sick? How is that possible? He'd couldn't ever recall Flash being sick.

"Like this? I don't know, about a week after getting my powers?"

"I thought you weren't able to get sick. Other than minor things."

John could hear Wally snort, "When I'm sick like that I usually have the flu and it's gone in a few hours. Batman would avoid me and Flash would tell me to go talk to some villains causing havoc hoping I'd get them sick. But this... man I just know that _Batman _is going to be on me like white on rice to make sure I don't return to the Watchtower and give them whatever I've got. Cause whatever it is, it's real bad."

A playful cackle came from the room, "Take it easy Wally. Batman plays dirty and you know it."

"So does John," Wally said with a laugh until he started coughing dryly.

"I'll be back later tonight. If anyone sees you in the Watchtower tonight-"

"I'm blaming John," Wally said with a lighthearted lit to his voice. John sighed. Obviously he was talking to a hero. He placed his hand on the door knob and quickly opened it. Nightwing stood at the foot of Wally's bed smiling impishly.

"Hello John," he said mock respectively.

"Nightwing," John acknowledged as he looked at Wally. His skin was paler than normal, almost translucent. He walked over and placed his hand on Wally's forehead much to the amusement of Nightwing and Wally's dismay. He felt warm and clammy. He glared at the marine.

"John," he groaned, "What are you-?"

"You really are sick," John stated. Wally moaned.

"Really? I couldn't tell," Wally said sarcastically throwing a few pills in his mouth, swallowing without water. He began to cough a little before Nightwing patted his back and went back to breathing normally.

"You should really be saving the jokes and probably be sleeping right now Walls," Nightwing said with a grin. The glare that John had been on the receiving end for a while now was aimed at Nightwing who only grinned at the bed ridden speedster, "Calm down Wally. John'll be here to watch you. It's not that bad. It could be Batman."

Wally had no idea why his friend would even bring _that_ up. He never was really sick when Batman had to take care of him. It was more injuries. And he had learned that Batman was just plain brutal. He was a freakin' slave driver. He wouldn't let him do anything really. But John was a Marine. Wally had a bad feeling about this.

***Clawing self out of grave***

**I LIVE. Even though my computer is dead… and now I am limited to a few minutes a day… Review for me? Help me please!**


	13. Chapter 13

Night wing frowned as he left Wally with John. Wally never got sick unless he wasn't getting the nutrients his body needed. Nothing could stay in his system long enough to do anything with his outrageous metabolism unless he wasn't eating enough or he was burning too much of it off.

He prayed John would understand that. Unlike when Night wing had first met Wally.

You see, when Night wing was still Robin, he had met who was to be the future Flash. He was to meet the man behind the mask. He was to meet the boy, who would help found the league. Hell, he never really told Batman about it. It was a stupid and crazy day when he learned how the seemingly older Kid Flash, was actually younger than he was.

-.-

"_C'mon Robin! Batman won't know!" Wally cried out to the boy wonder with a grin. Robin raised a curious brow at the elated speedster. _

"_Calm down Flash Kid," he stated. It was the first time he had ever worked with him without either of their mentors and they were told to just look around and to not actually fight._

"_It's Kid Flash," he grunted, "besides there is what? Two? Three guys down there. We could so take them!" _

_Robin wondered if Flash had just as bad ADHD as Kid Flash did. He swore that no one older than him could be so hyper… then again he was a Flash so that in itself was an oddball wild card. Unpredictable at best, but never too much of a problem. How Batman was able to actually work with Flash was beyond Robin._

"_Fine. Just don't blame me when you end up breaking your arm," Robin said with a smirk. Kid Flash stuck his tongue out at Robin before jumping down with him. _

_It didn't take them long for them to beat the thugs up. But when they were done, Robin was shocked to see Kid Flash's masked was ripped._

"_Something on my face?" he asked innocently._

"_More like lack thereof," Robin said pulling out a spare mask and slipping it over his eyes._

"_Man, Flash is gunna kill me," he groaned sounding much younger than Robin would expect._

"_Dude, you sound like a seven year old," Robin laughed. Kid Flash furrowed his brows curiously._

"_But Robin… I'm fourteen," he said crossing his arms. Robin blinked and looked at the other. He knew that he had been in the hero biz longer than this new partner but he thought that he was older. Well that certainly explained Flash's paranoia that was worse than Batman's._

**I really needed to update.**


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